


put your records on (and listen closely)

by wiiirt



Category: ITZY (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, a little chaerji, ryujisu - Freeform, ryulia - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:06:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24290284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wiiirt/pseuds/wiiirt
Summary: soulmate (noun); a person ideally suited and destined to another as a romantic partner, someone you deeply connects with.It’s a pseudo-fact that when we reach seventeen of our age, we are going to heard songs in our mind, the exact same song that was sung by our other half.Jisu is not a believer; Ryujin certainly is.
Relationships: Choi Jisu | Lia/Shin Ryujin, Hwang Yeji/Lee Chaeryeong
Comments: 2
Kudos: 75





	put your records on (and listen closely)

**Author's Note:**

> hi, hello! this is my first ryujisu fic! 
> 
> songs I used for this fic;  
> \- female president by girl's day  
> \- sweater weather by the neighbourhood  
> \- soft shock - yeah yeah yeahs  
> \- ho hey by the lumineers  
> \- put your records on by corinne  
> \- scary love by the neighbourhood  
> \- the most beautiful thing by bruno major

* * *

_I don't know who you are_   
_But I'll save you a seat_   
_Hang my coat on a chair next to me_

_I tried to reassure the waiter_   
_Say you're down the street_   
_He laughed at me_   
_So here's to you_

_The most beautiful thing that I have never seen_

The Most Beautiful Thing by Bruno Major-

* * *

Jisu knows it’s been five years since her special birthday; since the last time she sings a song in her mind with peace. Even so, she’s still skeptical about things she hasn’t experienced before. She doesn’t really believe it, but she would be lying if she says it doesn’t bother her, what if those things are true? Especially, the soulmate thing. It’s a pseudo-fact that when we reach seventeen of our age, we are going to heard songs in our mind, the exact same song that was sung by our other half. Nothing has proven that to be true, but everyone has been telling the same stories and feelings and experienced the same thing, that it became a fact, when it’s not necessarily is. It’s just the way it has been the social norm in society.

It’s been five years since her seventeen birthday, the day that marks and activate the soulmate thing. Jisu knows for sure though, that she never heard any strange songs in her mind. She is sure that every song that goes in her head is the same song she has been listening to or at least ever heard of. She is sure that she never experienced that thing and she is right all this time.

“Jeez, Jisu. You literally live in a records shop!” Yeji, her best friend once said, “You basically knew every song that exists.”

Jisu rolls her eyes, “Yeah, so? Isn’t that just give one more logical reason that every song I heard in my head probably came from downstairs and have nothing to do with the soulmate thing?”

“It also gave a reason that you could be wrong.” The taller girl shrugs, “You could hear a song that you never even heard before, but you just shrug it away and thought it came from the records shop.”

Jisu stayed silent. She knew her best friend has a point, but still, she doesn’t want to be vulnerable to the idea of having a soulmate, the idea of your partner in life is decided by the higher power in the universe and you could just do nothing, they will come anyway. No matter how skeptical she is about all of that, Jisu wants to have someone that she connects to. Don’t get her wrong, Yeji have pretty much everything and she has been doing nothing but good to Jisu, but that’s what differs a friend to a partner, right? Yeji is nothing but good, yet Jisu still didn’t feel anything strange and her life has been a static metronome. Besides, Yeji has been listening to K-pop girl groups’ songs since five years ago… and she never even pay attention to that before.

* * *

Ever since she was a kid, Ryujin always mesmerized by the fact that the universe she’s in now has something called the soulmate thing. It’s mostly because of her parents’ story about finding each other and how she looks at them as this ageless couple. She believes that her parents still fall in love with each other every day. She wants to have that kind of relationship too, in which they didn’t grow apart or got tired of each other, even if they did, they put out some effort to fix things and grow together instead. They are written in the stars, what could go wrong? Nothing, right?

There’s this one girl back in her high school, approached her just one week after her birthday. Not actually approached her, though. She started to sit in the same table as Ryujin’s because well... maybe there are free seats left. Ryujin feels like she never saw her before, it’s not like anyone has the courage to sit on the same table as Ryujin, Yuna, and Chaeryeong before. It was different that day, but Ryujin couldn’t care less, until she heard that girl humming songs that she just heard before having her lunch, “Wait. You are listening to Soft Shock?” and just like that, there goes the soulmate thing for Ryujin.

“Are you sure, Ryu?” Chaeryeong asked while she watches some choreography videos while learning and memorizing the dance.

Ryujin raised her eyebrow, “About?”

“That girl, the one who suddenly approach you and how you guys talked about her maybe… being your soulmate.” Yuna sips her shakes, “It is suspicious though. So, are you sure?”

Ryujin stood up, “Her songs matched the one in my head, though.”

Chaeryeong paused her video, “Did you feel the immediate connection, though? You know it doesn’t just require the songs.”

Ryujin hesitates before she finally answered, “I did.”

She lied.

* * *

Jisu just got home from school that day before her seventeen birthday, usually, she helps her father to manage the store after school. But, lots of her school work has been piled up and the deadline is somewhere around the corner. Yeji and Jisu got into the records shop and go straight to the doorway beside the cashier counter, the one that leads to her family’s personal space. Jisu is rushing and she crashes into this beautiful tall girl holding records with an upside-down house in its cover, “Welp. I’m sorry!” Jisu quickly bowed and her friend just facepalmed.

“Hey, dad. I need to finish my school works today; I’ll be upstairs if you need anything!” Jisu shouts while rushing to go upstairs.

“Afternoon, Mr. Choi.” Yeji bowed to Jisu’s dad before following her tiny friend.

“Okay, girls, good luck!” Mr. Choi leaves the counter and goes to the bottom of the stairs, he forgot to inform Jisu and Yeji, “If you’re hungry there’s some food in the kitchen!”

Both girls just simultaneously answered with yes from upstairs. Mr. Choi smiles on how the girls are acting up and goes back to his counter since there’s a customer waiting. The customer waits patiently while Mr. Choi scans her records and he said, “I’m sorry for all the chaos and the shouting,”

“Yeah, no problem. That’s just how high school works.”

He laughs, “No jazz for today, Sohee?”

The customer who’s called as Sohee shook her head, “It’s for my sister.”

“Oh, it will be 50,000₩.”

Sohee opened her purse and take the exact amount of money for Mr. Choi, “I think she will be a regular just like me years from now.”

Mr. Choi laughs and hands the packaged records, “It will be a relief for me, then.”

“It sure will.” Sohee smiles and takes her purchased records, “Thank you, Mr. Choi. I’ll get going now.”

Meanwhile, upstairs, Jisu is still unpacking her bag when Yeji annoyed her. It’s not even past a month since her seventeen birthday, but Yeji already experienced a drastic shift for her music taste, and it kind of annoys Jisu. The older is now digging popular girl group’s songs, even learning their dance, because Yeji finds it entertaining. Jisu knows better though, she exactly knows that Yeji is acting however she is acting right now just because of the soulmate thing.

“What do you mean you don’t like Female President?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it, but you’ve been listening to the same song for weeks!”

“It’s addicting… what can I do?”

“I don’t know, listen to other songs that crossed your mind?” Jisu shrugs, “Don’t you think your soulmate going to have a sleeping problem listening to that pretty much every hour?”

Yeji bits her lips, “You think so?”

Jisu smiles, she won. Now, she can unpack her bag in peace while hums to Sweater Weather and starts preparing for her school works while Yeji search for another song by girl groups on her phone. Speaking of it, Jisu just realizes that tomorrow is her seventeen birthday, the day that is going to decides whether she’d like her soulmate despite never meeting them before or whether this whole pseudo-fact is true. She shook her head; she doesn’t want to be too nervous about it.

They spent the whole day finishing their school works. It was almost midnight. Jisu offered Yeji just to sleep over and they would wake up early tomorrow to stop by Yeji’s house and straight to school after. Jisu unconsciously fell asleep first. Knowing that, Yeji tip-toed her way out of the room and found Mr. Choi in the kitchen with a birthday cake.

“Is she asleep?”

Yeji nods her head excitedly, “Safe and sound, Mr. Choi.”

“Good. Now, we wait for 00:19 AM, her birth time.”

Yeji prepares for her birthday hat. It is finally 00:18 AM and they lit-up the birthday cake and waits in front of Jisu’s room. A minute passed, they softly opened her room and sang the birthday song. Jisu woke up startled and groans, “Whoa, you guys are planning this?”

Her father and her best friend only laughs and keep singing, “Happy Birthday, Jisu.”

Jisu forgoes her sleepiness and smiles. The night was well spent and they took countless pictures of each other. The birthday girl sometimes look at both of the most important figures in her life and can’t be grateful enough. Even though she did wish her mother could be present at these kinds of times, she wants to share her happiness so badly. But then, she believes her mother couldn’t be happier if she just lives in the moment and cherishes it without being sentimental about her. After the little celebration, her father left the room with the birthday cake, leaving Yeji and Jisu alone. Jisu still feels the ecstatic feeling even though she’s tired and badly wants to sleep right away. Yeji is the one to fall asleep first now.

The birthday girl just closed her eyes when the birthday song in her mind changed to Sweater Weather. She feels… weird, she thought it would be an unfamiliar song if the birthday song ever stops ringing in her mind. Rather, it’s the same song that has been ringing in her head these past days. She pauses for a moment; she is concerned that maybe her doubts are true all along. She tries and tries to believe that the soulmate thing is real for the past seventeen years, but most of the time she has this indescribable doubt about it. It is ironic because she lives in a record store and lots of couples of soulmate found each other downstairs, just because they are searching for the same records.

_Maybe they are, indeed, lying._

* * *

Ryujin never gave up. She probably has gone through so much for the past five years. What can she do? Listening to the song that goes on her mind every morning, every evening, she is sure that her soulmate is pretty and meant to be with her. Her head is basically full of exquisite songs recommendation. She loves how her soulmate sung upbeat songs when morning comes, acoustic songs while it’s time to relax, and lullabies when it’s time to sleep. Ryujin is a night owl before she reaches seventeen, but her soulmate is the other way around, and maybe Ryujin likes it that way. She feels pumped whenever morning comes and it motivates her to even do house chores. Isn’t that incredible? How her soulmate can be a source of her motivation each day, even though they never saw each other.

However, being the school’s heartthrob isn’t always easy. The first week of being a seventeen years old girl, Ryujin made a self-curated playlist for unfamiliar songs that happens to cross her head. She forgot that she has a never-ending list of people who adore her, while the self-curated playlist was uploaded in the public streaming platform under the name “in ryu’s head.” It doesn’t take much time for her admirers to found it. Ryujin learns this a hard way, it was her very first girlfriend after all.

Remember the lunch break girl? She is the one we are talking about. Chaeryeong and Yuna know that there are lots of people in their school who got jealous of this girl because she is the first one who’s brave enough to sing some of the songs… from Ryujin’s playlist, in front of Ryujin. Everyone knows this girl is suspicious for some reason. Everyone. Except for Ryujin.

“Wait. You are listening to Soft Shock?” Ryujin asked.

The girl stops humming, low-key surprised by the sudden question, but she tries to keep it cool, “Yeah. Why?”

“Have you been listening to that song since like—I don’t know—days ago?”

Yuna and Chaeryeong find the conversation between the two strange, but they keep on minding their business anyway.

The girl chuckles awkwardly, “Yeah, I did.”

Ryujin bits her lip, “Have you heard of Ho Hey, though? On your head or something?”

“What’s that?”

Ryujin starts to fidget, “You know, the song that goes…” She coughs lightly and starts to sing, “And I belong with you, you belong with me. You’re my sweetheart?”

“Oh, that song!” The girl claps. “Yeah, I’ve heard it somewhere in my head. You can’t stop listening to it, don’t you?”

Ryujin laughs, “I’m Ryujin.”

“I know. I’m Rina.”

“Are we… soulmates?”

Chaeryeong and Yuna eventually give in and trust Ryujin about anything that has to do with Rina. Days become weeks, weeks become months, months become… they didn’t last that long, fortunately. It is just a matter of time for Ryujin to find out the ugly truth about her. It’s just how every cheater got caught red-handed; their phone. It was a lazy Saturday afternoon when they decide to just stay in Rina’s home instead of going out. Rina is scrolling down through Netflix when Ryujin got bored, “Can I borrow your phone?”

Rina didn’t hesitate, “Sure.”

It was the first time Ryujin ever given the chance to look her phone up, mostly because they never really be the couple to have so much trust issues to always check on each other’s phone. Ryujin opened up her music library and there it is. “in ryu’s head.” Her library consists of nothing but Ryujin's playlist. Her self-curated playlist dedicated to unfamiliar songs in her head. How can one didn’t have any songs in their library but this one particular playlist? Ryujin holds her breathe and goes to her photo library, just to find out that Rina has been taking pictures of Ryujin, even before her seventeen birthday.

It was too much for Ryujin. This thing supposed to be beautiful and innocent and honest, but here she is. In Rina’s couch, trying hard to hold back her tears, at least until she managed to get out of there. She packed her bag, stood up, “You lied.”

“Huh?” Rina finally pays attention to Ryujin, who’s now ready to go.

“You were never my soulmate; you just impersonate yourself into being one. Thank god, it’s over now. You can stop pretending.”

Before her girlfriend, now ex-girlfriend could say anything, Ryujin storm out of the room. She rushes herself back into her home, where she finds Sohee and Yuna in the dining table, “Ryujin? God, you’re a mess.” Sohee immediately approaches her and tuck Ryujin’s hair—that blocked her from seeing the younger face clearly—behind her ear.

Yuna raised her eyebrow, “What happened? Are you okay?”

The silence finally broke and Ryujin began to shake, “She lied.” She tries so hard not to, but she cries anyway. She clenches her fists and wipes her face from the overflowing tears. Her two sisters hug her tightly, not saying anything, just wishing that this is enough to comfort their middle-sister.

* * *

Jisu never dated anyone up until she reaches her twenties. Maybe because people her age now is focusing to search for their soulmate, instead of having fun and date anyone who they found interesting. Yeji is not an exception either, just now, she is forcing Jisu to tag along with her for this dance competition that involves girl group songs and original choreography. Yeji has this theory that this one particular girl in the dance group is her soulmate. Jisu still doesn’t understand how she came up with that theory, they never met each other, and Yeji is just another viewer of the choreography videos this girl has made. But, Yeji is sure about it, she can feel it in her guts. She is not sure how to approach her though, until the after-party. Oh and I forgot to tell you, Yeji isn’t here to observe, she is the singer that supposed to perform in the after-party, along with Jisu. They’re planning to sing Put Your Records On for the opening and she has been practicing for that song for the past few hours, she always practices hardly for the opening song, because everything would go easily after that. That first song is always the one which makes the older girl most nervous.

“You always perform perfectly, Yeji.” Jisu laughs, “Sometimes because you look so nervous about performing, I didn’t even feel a tiny bit of it.”

“I know.” Yeji starts to sing again, anyway.

That’s when Yeji’s particular girl passed by while protesting, “For the love of God, can my soulmate please stop singing Put Your Records On?”

Yeji and Jisu immediately look at each other, dumbfounded. Before they could react, the event organizer calls them to go to the stage. Yeji sets up her Cajon while Jisu tries to sit with her guitar comfortably. The older girl adjusts her microphone, “Hi, everyone. We are Peachcoustic! I’m Yeji with my Cajon and my partner, Jisu with her guitar. We hope with our simple performance is enough to entertain you all tonight after the tiring competition.” Yeji smiles, “I would like to apologize to my soulmate if they are in this room, because I’ve been practicing countless times for this song only.”

The crowd cheers and laughs at Yeji’s apology.

The light is blinding from the stage, but Yeji finds the same girl in the crowd, looking startled and pretty, “So, here is… Put Your Records On.”

* * *

Jisu sings softly, “Even better when you first look up, than anybody else—”

Yeji laughs, “What?”

“What?”

“You are singing Scary Love, no?”

“Yeah, why?” Jisu raised her eyebrow.

“You sang the wrong lyrics. It’s not _when you first look up_ , but _when you first wake up_.” Yeji opened her phone and look up the actual lyric for the song.

“What? I’m sure it’s the right one.”

Yeji shows the lyrics on her phone, “See?”

The younger frowns, “Well, that’s weird.”

“It’s not the first time you sang the wrong lyrics. Thank God you never did in between our performance; I’d be dying of laughter.”

Jisu rolls her eyes and starts to organize the records again. Today Yeji is tagging along in the shop because Mr. Choi needed to take care of some business outside. Yeji’s words echo in her mind, _it’s not the first time you sang the wrong lyrics,_ which made her wonder… _What if the soulmate thing is real and her soulmate sings those words intentionally?_ Jisu stares blankly into the records’ shelf, she realized that she feels empty lately.

Living as the non-believer in the world of people believing fairy tales made her feel that way sometimes. It’s getting worse now that Yeji maybe has found her soulmate, the same girl from that night, someone called Chaeryeong. It was fun though, that night, Jisu recalls. Maybe a little weird, because it does feel like Yeji and Chaeryeong have this mystical bond over one another, they only met for twenty seconds but it feels like they have been together for twenty years. Jisu is not the type to wonder and imagine the life of a romance, but she has been yearning for one these past months. She just doesn’t know-how, everyone believes that they have their own partner and that just made it harder for Jisu, just one contradicting songs in her head with whoever she got interested in, they back off and left. But, what can she say? She doesn’t believe that and she never heard of songs other than the one she has been listening to. Until Yeji said that. Maybe, it is true and her soulmate now wants to make things easier for them by singing the wrong lyrics intentionally.

* * *

Ryujin has come up with lots of things to prevent herself from repeating the Rina incident back in her high school year. She still creates the playlist, only privately. Apparently, Ryujin doesn’t know that every playlist she made is gone public before Yuna told her. Chaeryeong couldn’t stop teasing her about it after, “You really are the hag between three of us.”

One thing that never fails Ryujin, when she sings a song with the false lyrics. Now, no random person can come up to her and acts like they knew everything. There are still people who approach her, but she knew right away that they were lying. It scares her sometimes on how people could do such a thing. Like, _you have your own other half, what can you get from me anyway?_ Those unfortunate events never made Ryujin gave up on finding her soulmate though, nor did it make her a non-believer. She stills believe that someday she would come across the person of her dreams and have the same exact relationship as her parents. Her older sister hasn’t even found one and she has gone past her quarter-life, so Ryujin waits patiently. Chaeryeong and Yuna joke about her situation sometimes, “Maybe you should start dating the non-believers.”

“Why should I date someone who’s not my soulmate?”

“Who knows, right?” Yuna shrugs.

Chaeryeong turns her head at Ryujin, “Yeji’s friend is a non-believer. Maybe you could start with her.”

“Nope and nope.” Ryujin sticks out her tongue. She probably has gone through so much since five years ago, but it doesn’t change her and she is proud of herself. Her soulmate still indirectly gave her so many songs recommendation after all these years and it never stops to amaze Ryujin, the fact that she is lucky to have someone that has a music taste so similar to her. Even better. Sometimes late at night, Ryujin imagines her soulmate is someone who has an excellent voice, judging from how many times she sings within a day. She honestly can’t wait to meet them, for she’s probably the most beautiful thing that she has never seen.

* * *

Ryujin can’t stop taking a big leap in every step she takes on her way home. She’s too happy. Today is the first day she ever got her own paycheck from her full-time job and her sister promised to take Ryujin to her regular records shop. Their parents are the biggest fan of this records store, Sohee once told her. Her sister ever asked her about tagging along with her whenever she wants to stop by the records store, but Ryujin always refused to, she wants to go there when she actually going to purchase her first records with her first paycheck from a full-time job. Now, Ryujin is responsible for her job as a copywriter in her dream company, one of the most acclaimed advertising agency in South Korea.

Ryujin finally arrived at her little apartment, “Time to fulfill your promise, sis!”

“I know, Ryujin.” Sohee already looking so sharp, ready to take her sister on a drive, “Yuna, you coming?”

“Nope, school works.”

It was a 45-minute long drive. Sohee put on Bruno Major’s songs, especially the one that Ryujin likes the most lately, The Most Beautiful Thing. The song pretty much describes her situation about the whole soulmate situation. They finally arrived and Ryujin was stunned by the two-story building, it looks like it has been there for a long time, but it doesn’t feel like something which was eaten by its age. She somehow feels like home, she imagines how her parents used to come here all the time. Then she really took her time observing the records shop and deciding what to buy. Ryujin actually already has her own plan, but coming here, made her wants to consider every record that exists.

“Got it?” Sohee appeared from Ryujin’s back.

“You startled me!”

Sohee chuckles and muffles Ryujin’s hair, “Sorry?”

Ryujin rolls her eyes, “I’m not a kid anymore, stop messing with my hair.”

“You still are, for me. Would you like me to accompany you to the cashier?”

“No, thanks.” Ryujin left her older sister in the hallway.

 _Hang my coat on a chair next to me, I tried to reassure the waitress,_ Ryujin sings the same song again, purposely with the wrong lyrics. It became a habit now; high school really are scary times for her. 

_Say you’re down the street  
_ _He chuckles at me_

Ryujin put her records on the counter and search for her wallet in her tote bag, too busy to even pay attention to the cashier girl. She still sings softly—she can barely hear her own voice, _so here’s to you, the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen_.

“Wait. It’s _I have never seen_ , not _ever seen_.” The cashier girl, Jisu, mumbles and shook her head, “Whatever is going on with my head and messing up lyrics needs to stop.” She clicks her tongue.

“Wait. What?” Ryujin finally takes a good look at the girl in front of her.

Jisu turns her head away from the computer, “What?”

“Were you saying about wrong lyrics from The Most Beautiful Thing?” Ryujin licks her lips, she’s scared of what’s coming.

Jisu stayed silent for a few seconds, “…Um, yeah?”

“You are my soulmate.”

**Author's Note:**

> hiii omg you finished my fic! thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> i hope you enjoy this and if you could leave some feedback for me, it'd mean sm! thank you so much, once again, ily
> 
> short story; the bruno major song heavily inspired me to write this and that lia's vlive where she shows all of her records' collection along with her dad's and ryujin said in one of her vlive that lia recommends LANY song to her.


End file.
